“The first budget in all of Yankee history is good cover here. Boras is much better cover, just because banging him around is a much more enjoyable workout than you could ever get at the gym. But if the Yankees wanted Johnny Damon, he’d still be here. They didn’t. He isn’t.”

The Post’s Joel Sherman, meanwhile, gives us a blow-by-blow of the split between Damon and the Yankees’ front office.

By the way, Cashman is pissed that Boras claims the Yanks never made Damon a real offer because they had already made one to Nick Johnson.

Cashman says picking up Javy Vasquez was he Yanks’ biggest off-season move and that the team won’t be negotiating contracts mid-season with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Joe Girardi or Andy Pettitte. (The Star-Ledger)

In an interview with the YES Network, A-Rod says he “was just so tired of the whole ‘unclutch’ thing.”